An Invitation

A year or so, I was casually invited to lecture at the annual meeting of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) in Philadelphia in 2012. On Friday, I received the official invitation of an offer to lecture. This is quite an honor for a small town dentist who has not gone out of his way to achieve national recognition. My restorative dentistry is recognized for excellence not only in this country but in India, South America and Australia.

I am truly honored to be offered the opportunity to lecture to a large number of my colleagues. As you know, my primary professional interest is in providing excellent dental care to you, MY Patients. Writing articles, lecturing and teaching are a distant second to direct patient care.

I will give some thought to accepting this wonderful honor. The most important thing is that my patients know that my colleagues believe that my work is excellent.

A Patient in Need

I recently saw a new patient who was dissatisfied with her previous dentist. She had a dental emergency before Christmas and her dentist told her on four occasions that he did not have time to treat her.

WHAT?????

My patient had lost a front filling three times and wanted to become my patient. She had an appointment on Tuesday at 5 PM for a full mouth series of radiographs (X-Rays) and she told me that she has had a terrible toothache on the lower left side since the weekend. After asking her why she hadn't called me, I asked her if she would like me to get her an appointment with my endodontist for a root canal on Wednesday and she thanked me. As soon as I emailed Dr. Banchs to ask him to see my patient, he took the elevator down 2 floors and came to my office to meet my patient and reassure her that she would be seen the next day.

On the way out she told Dr. Banchs and me, "I am not used to being treated this way."

Why would any patient go to a dentist that will not see them in their hour of need?

I just don't get it. I have dedicated my life to taking care of MY patients and I have no desire to change now.

Your health and your comfort are my MAIN CONCERN.

"It Just Wasn't the Right Thing to Do"

There was a front page story in Thursday's New York Times about a baseball pitcher who earned $12 million a year to play and REFUSED to take his salary.

"When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it. Once I started to realize I wasn't earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn't feel like I deserved it. I didn't want to have those feelings again."

Can you believe it?

It is so rare in American life that someone even talks about 'Doing the Right Thing' and even rarer to have them walk the talk.

'Do The Right Thing' is MY OFFICE MOTTO. It is on the stone card holders in my office. Anyone who has been my patient for any length of time will hear me recite my motto and go on to say that if I can't give you VALUE for your money, that I don't want your money.

Just last week, my office manager Tricia told me that she hears "Do the Right Thing" in her sleep...And I am happy to hear that.

The one thing that my patients must know about me is that I will never do anything to hurt you to earn my fee. We MUST do the right thing.

Would I Do It On My Own Daughter?

Would I do the treatment on my own daughter if she was my patient?

I saw a new, 26 year old female patient on Friday for a consultation for my area of expertise, cosmetic dentistry. She was referred to me by another of my patients specifically to improve her smile. After examining her teeth and smile, I performed a Direct Resin Mock UP which is a technique that I have perfected for demonstrating to patients what their smile would look like if they decided to have treatment. More importantly, the Mock Up tells ME where I need to go with this case. My patient was thrilled with the Mock Up and informed me that she wanted to move forward with treatment.

I told my patient that I could significantly improve her smile with veneers but that if she were MY DAUGHTER, I would strongly recommend an orthodontic consultation because I feel that it would be better to MOVE her teeth into the correct position rather than to remove tooth structure for veneers. The correct treatment is first to move her teeth AND THEN place porcelain veneers.

I could earn more money immediately if I just placed porcelain veneers in the next few weeks. I would rather wait a year to have her teeth orthodontically placed in the right position first BEFORE placing veneers.

Why don't I want to earn money now?

Because I would not treat my own daughter with veneers without first having orthodontics. Because it is not the right thing to do.

Before deciding on any medical or dental treatment, you must always ask your physician or dentist what they would do if you were their wife, son or daughter.

A New Patient

I am (thankfully) seeing a lot of new patients in Saratoga. Many want me to be their new general dentist and others are specifically looking to improve their smiles. Last week I consulted with a new patient who wanted a new dentist AND wants to improve her smile. I chatted with my new patient and then performed a direct resin mock up which is a technique that I have perfected and that I frequently lecture to other dentists about. The mockup is designed to allow a patient to preview what a new, beautiful smile would look like IN THEIR MOUTH prior to having any work performed. My new patient now understands that their mouth has deteriorated and that I have the ability to make vast improvments. More importantly, it enables me to learn everything that I need to know directly from the patient's mouth before I start treatment.

My new patient sent me this wonderful email today:

The images are so dramatic, I can't believe the difference. Thank you for your promptness. I was very anxious to get the photos and take my time to peruse them.
I felt so comfortable at your office that before I left I had already made up my mind that I would like you to be my new dentist.
I'm looking very forward to more discussions regarding my new smile!
Thank you,

I am truly honored when a new patient selects our office for their dental treatment. I sent this patient an email telling her that I will do everything that I can to make her happy in our office.

I said it....AND I MEAN IT.

The Pursuit of Excellence is a Lonely Journey

I am reading the book "Talent is Overrated."
Is Tiger Woods a great golfer because he has the 'golf gene?'
Are World Class chess players better than the rest of us because they are smarter or have better memories?

The answer to both of those questions is 'NO.'

All the the evidence points to the fact that world class individuals have dedicated their lives to 'deliberately practicing' their craft...NON-STOP.

People that know me think that I am odd or different because I think about my work constantly and that I am trying to improve my skills even at an age when most dentists are retiring. They don't get it...And they NEVER will get it.

I study dentistry, I read about it, I go to different institutes to learn from THE BEST in the World. When I watch TV, I point out who had a great dentist and who went to a mediocre one.

Yes I am different just by the fact that I love what I do. I have spent thousands of hours locked in a class room for three and four days at a time and spent millions of dollars to do so.

And why did I do it?

So that I could try to be the best at what I do........for YOU, my patient. I also did it for ME so that I could feel good about myself and the service that I provide to my patients.

Folks just don't understand and that is why the pursuit of excellence is such a lonely journey.

Doc, I Broke My Tooth. Will You Put a Crown On It?

In the overwhelming majority of cases when patient's present with a broken tooth or a filling that has come out, I will NOT place a crown on the tooth. Most patients have been 'conditioned' by dentists to have crowns placed on their teeth when a tooth breaks or the old filling is a significant part of the tooth. Lately, some "high tech" dentists CONVINCE their patient to have onlays placed on their teeth because they have a $125,000 Cerec machine sitting in the corner that they need to use.

For 20 years I have followed the philosophy that there is nothing that I can place on a tooth that is stronger than natural tooth structure (enamel). Years ago, I started placing onlays on teeth which were more tooth conserving than full crowns. About 10 years ago, new techniques were developed by some of the best dentists in the world and new resin materials came onto the market by manufacturers which largely made BOTH crowns and onlays not needed in the majority of situations of broken teeth and large old fillings. (Note: Crowns on back teeth are ALWAYS needed if the tooth has had a root canal).

If you select the right dentist, you can avoid having your teeth cut down for crowns.

The removal of beautiful, healthy enamel to place crowns is old fashioned dentistry.

A highly educated and trained dentist will place a well done, tooth conserving direct resin restoration. Or you can have your tooth destroyed for a crown.

Your choice!!!

Incomprehensible

There are many things that I see that I don't understand.
How is my wife's best friend treated for seven months for a gall bladder problem when in reality she had Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer?
How is another of Susan's friends diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer when she has had an annual mammogram because there is a familiar risk in her family?
How could our beloved Leslie have a lesion on her thigh that was shown to her physician and ignored for a year turn out to be a Melanoma? How could Leslie have a lump in her breast diagnosed for a year as a benign cyst and then have breast cancer?
How could a patient with lesions that are,according to the doctors, 'atypical' then be diagnosed with cancer not have a chest x-ray or a bone scan 1 year after being cured from breast cancer?

HOW?

I have a belief (which may mean that I am not correct) that physicians have been 'demoted' to the top of the Blue Collar working class and they are angry. They have had their pay reduced by insurance companies to the point where they are merely insurance clerks checking boxes to send patients for tests.

This must stop before other patients are misdiagnosed or mistreated.

And this is why I do not participate with any insurance company. I care more for you, my patient, than your insurance company does. I will always do what is in YOUR best interest regardless whether or not you have insurance.

We have to pay physicians more and let them be doctors again.

Our Beloved Leslie

My hygienist of 26 years passed away today. I last saw Leslie on my last day in Troy,September 28 after she decided not to make the trip to Saratoga. Shortly after that, she became ill and went to the doctor and ultimately was diagnosed with Stage 4lung cancer even though she was not a smoker.

Leslie was loved by all and lived her life with beauty, style, dignity and grace. Despite having two previous bouts of cancer, she came to work everyday except for an occasional bad reaction to her chemo. When she lost her hair because of the chemo, she purchased an elegant hair replacement that looked so good that no one even knew that she was ill.

We grieve with her mother, her son and her sister. She was one of our family and we will miss her.